A discussion at YMB inspired this. I could do the whole soundtrack of my life using music from Rush. Its my favorite band ever and their music has been with me a long time. But the idea here is not a song that evokes my feelings or situations at a certain point. Its the music that was actually playing in the background as stuff happened. This is the music I remember from these times. Thanks to Imeem all of you can now listen to the soundtrack. There is an embedded player at the end of the post or you can go directly to the playlist with the following link:
The Soundtrack of My Life and Times
A bit of background info about each song. It would be pathetic if my whole life could be summarized in less than 30 songs but these are the ones that jumped out from somehighlights of my life so far.

El niño del tambor /Danny Rivera: The Boricua version of a classic. I played the archangel Gabriel a billion times as a kid on community and school Christmas plays. Get it? Since my name is Gabriel...
Detroit Rock City/Kiss: My usual Halloween makeup was Kiss Kabuki. I loved metal and rock since I was a kid. Kiss and its theatrics are a big part of that.
Spider-Man/Ramones: I am cheating here a bit but this version is way cool and it takes me to my sugar induced highs of childhoods. We had 3 TV channels till I was in high school, 2, 3 and 4. 2 and 4 had great cartoon blocks every day at 3:00 and on the weekends. I was a bigger fan of Pacheco than Tio Nobel but didn't really paid much attention to either, mostly the toons. Spidey and the old crap animated Marvel cartoons were some of my faves.
The Imperial March/John Williams: I loved those toys more than anything. My first exposure to the property was the Christmas special. I liked the animated segments. Bobba Fett was cool. Even young I knew Princess Leia was as drunk as most of my uncles on New Year's Eve. But then, someone gave me a few toys. The figures were great and the vehicles were astounding.
Vive tu Vida Contento/ Willie Colón: A particularly memorable Christmas when we received the visit of a lot of my USA cousins. My first exposure to people who said they were Puertorricans but didn't speak Spanish and knew dick about the island or the history. Most were older than me and really into the "Puertorrican experience" I found it a bit annoying. Of course, they were mindblown. They considered the New Jersey tar pits as decent beaches. a trip to Boqueron taught them what a real beach is.
Wake me up before you GoGo/ Wham! I started dressing hip, threw out my comics and started chasing girls. I told myself I was growing up and looked sharp in those pastel colored clothes.
We are not gonna take it/ Twisted Sister: My pop phase didn't last long. A good childhood friend gave me this tape as a birthday present and a cousin mailed me a big care pack of Byrne/Claremot X-Mens. I was back in comics for good.
All I Need/ Jack Wagner: The song playing at the school dance when I got my first kiss.
A Jazmin/ El Ultimo de la Fila: Another teen romance. She was in public school, I was in private school. We submitted to peer pressure and that was that.
Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner/Iron Maiden: One of my walkman standbys while biking to the beach almost every weekend.
Cuando Pasara/Robbi Rosa: This version's better than the original. We played it a lot at school retreats. Any Catholic school kid knows about the retreats, lots of guilty raw feelings, lots of crying, lots of hugging and promises...
Kaneda/Akira OST: Life imitates art? By then I was experimenting with alcohol and even a bit of grass. I had a good friend that was good at getting tapes of all kinds of cool movies. Lots of Hong Kong stuff. Argento zombie flicks. Anything Wometco wouldn't touch with a 10 feet pole. Akira blew our minds. Remember the philosophy craze when The MAtrix came out? Books and discussions about the subject matter? Well, we had that back then but just some guys in front of a bonfire drunk in El Combate
Como hemos cambiado/ Presuntos Implicados I was a wimp and for the longest time I tought I would go to hell because of my inaction. See I was crazy in love with this girl. Problem is, she was my best friend. I never said anything. Year later, we had a talk, turns out she was sorry she din't say anything. Figures
Crazy Train/ Ozzy: One of the first things I did when I got my first car was go to the mall and buy some Ozzy tapes. It was a piece of shit car that left me stranded everywhere. But then again, it took me places anyway.
In your Eyes/Peter Gabriel: Last summer of high school or first summer of college?. Last kiddie romance. Another case of life imitating art?
Papa Dios/La Mancha del Jardin: The college music scene. I went bonkers the first few semesters in college. And these guys played everywhere at once!
Japanese Drums/ Kitaro: Not sure how, I hooked with an older woman in college (30ish). She was into New Age, patchouli oil and lots and lots of sex. I learned a lot. Aaand lets leave it at that.
Oubao Moin/Sol D'Menta: I loved these guys, guitarist is really brilliant. This was during my student activist phase. I was vice president of some student associations. Started getting political. Let my hair grow a bit and started wearing Albizu Ts and sandals.
Ciega, Sordomuda/Shakira: My first real serious girlfriend was really into Shakira, back when she had black hair, flat ass and small breasts
Aeris Theme/ Final Fantasy OST: I finally made enough money for a TV and a Playstation, single life was good. Got a decent apartment and everything. I was picking up the tab whenever I went out with friends. And yeah, the Final Fantasy game was a big deal, especially the death of you know who.
Cosas de la Lluvia/ Radio Pirata: Aaand I was heartbroken yet again. Swore off women for good. I decided I was gonna be a cynical, bitter monk, even if I lived to be 30, no more serious relaitonships for me.
Americas/ Strunz & Farrah: I started to listen to world music, cut my hair real short and started buying clothes at The Gap.
Bombón de Azucar/La Secta: I meet, Hilda Vanessa. Our mutual hatred is biblical. We end up in bed, we fall in love.
Lets Get it On/ Jack Black: Ran out and bought the Hi Fidelity soundtrack when it came out. Vane and I had been together 5 years and I was stuck in a rut. The movie was a big influence on me. Started to think about the future and stuff, even got an IRA.
Mr. Funk Samba/ Black Rio: Less than a year later, on Ipanema, Brazil I proposed
Smells Like Teen Spirit/Rock Baby: My son Gustavo Enrique. The pregnancy was a dark period but thank God, the kid is doing great.
The Main Monkey Business/Rush: The insanity that is my life right now.
Hope you enjoy the music and had fun reading this. It was was fun to compile!